How can I grow my business in 2022 (despite the challenges)?

Most of us were looking forward to 2020, I mean, there is something about heading into a new decade that conjures feelings of hope and motivation, but we could never have predicted what was to come next.  As the COVID-19 pandemic spread throughout the world at a rapid rate, we all found ourselves wondering what would come next. Businesses worried whether or not they could even make it through the first month of lockdown, while others had no choice but to shut their doors. 

Some businesses managed to stay afloat, if only for a short time, while a few businesses managed to work through the pandemic and actually come out stronger. It all seems to have come down to industry, agility, and location and no one went unaffected, although some experienced the chaos worse than others. 

However, what the pandemic did do was bring the world together as we went through a collective trauma, and now, as we head into 2022, challenges still lie ahead even 2 years later, but one thing is for sure - you can still grow your business and watch it thrive.

So, how can you grow your business in 2022? 

If you are looking to grow your business in the coming year, you will need to put together a smart marketing strategy that is able to identify prospective clients, nurture leads and build customer loyalty. In 2022, you will need to put in the effort to develop your business and this means you will have to dive head first into your marketing endeavors. Right now, your customers, no matter who they are, are still stressed and distracted (even 2 years into this), and your business will need to work hard to gain their attention as quickly as possible, otherwise your competition is sure to reap the rewards. 

You need to get your business message to your target market as effectively as possible as you head into the new year, and we are here to help you do just that. 

Marketing your business for growth in 2022

Get to know your Target Audience and Create a Buyers Persona

By understanding your buyer and your buyers persona, you will know how to engage with your target market effectively, where to engage with them, and when to engage with them. By reaching your right audience at the right time, you will strengthen your brand and your brand reputation as a whole. 

You need to know who it is you are trying to sell to and what it is they want out of your goods or services. You are able to discover more about your target market by keeping an eye on industry trends, analysing data (from your website and your current social media platforms), and through direct interaction with current customers.  Once you have an idea of who your target market is, put together a buyer persona. A buyer persona is a fictional character that is created to represent a potential buyer that may be interested in your business offerings. Your marketing team can use the buyer persona to  understand what marketing channels they should be using to reach potential customers. 

A buyer persona will give your great structure and insight into your business, and a detailed buyer persona will help you determine where your marketing and sales team should focus their time and as a result, you will be able to attract the most valuable visitors, leads and customers to your business. And this quality lead generation is what is needed to help grow your business for 2022. 

High Quality Content for Greater Lead Generation

Creating informative, helpful and high quality content that your audience (and buyer persona) wants to read will inevitably bring them to your website and your business. Content is king, but content is also currency, because well thought out and shareable content will give you a great return on your investment - the more people you bring through to your blog page or landing pages, the greater your brand awareness, and the more sales you will make. 

Some of the most effective content includes:

• How-to guides and tutorials 
• Product/ service reviews on goods relevant to your business
• Questions and Answers
• List orientated posts that are easy for the reader to consume
• Thought leader articles that benefit the reader and add value and insight to their lives
• Downloadable e-books and e-guides that will assist your viewer

Excellent and well thought out content will establish your business as an industry leader, create trust with your target market, and help in acquiring quality leads.

User Friendly Website leads to Conversion

These days, a website is the central hub for any business. With social distancing in place, many consumers have chosen to make purchases online and they do their research when deciding on a purchase - this means that your website needs to be present on the search engines (we will get to that in greater detail soon) and easy to navigate.

Even if you are not selling your product online, most consumers do their research on the internet before even considering a purchase and this is why your website needs to stand out from your competitors.

Your website content is not the only thing that will set you apart, you need to create a website that is mobile friendly and comes with quick loading time, as more than 50% of mobile users will leave a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Your website also needs to be easy to navigate, directing the user from one page to another with ease - essentially guiding them on the buyer's journey and directing them to take action. 

 Optimize Emails and Newsletters

Email marketing and newsletters are not a thing of the past. This form of inbound marketing is incredibly effective, and keeps your potential customers and current customers engaged with your business, it also offers you the opportunity for lead nurturing and with email tracking in place, you will be able to gain even more insight into your individual leads which gives you a greater opportunity to turn those leads into customers. 

As budget for businesses may be limited at this time, there are a number of cost-effective email services you can invest in, and many of them offer email automation tools, allowing for streamlined and effective email marketing. Email automation through Customer Relationship Management software is ideal for any business as these systems send emails to your leads at the right time, with a personalised message directly aimed at where the lead is in the buying cycle. The ideal way to grow your business in 2022! Learn more about CRMs and Email marketing automation, here. 

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a part of our everyday lives and an integral part of life for so many people - and this is why it cannot be sidelined in 2022. 

For some perspective, 74% of Facebook users say that they visit the site every day and with this in mind (and that number rising), social media is one of the greatest tools for growing a business. Once you understand your buyer persona, you will also be able to figure out what social media platforms they are using and why they are using those platforms - and you can tailor your social media marketing around that data. 

Learn more about how to use social media for lead generation and to grow your business, here on the Nexa website. 

SEOwnership for 2022

If you have a technically healthy website, packed with high quality content, your site will rise up the Google ranks. But the process is not simple, and it takes a lot of time and strategy to get your website to rank above your competitors - and this is where Search Engine Optimisation comes into play. But at Nexa, we want to take Search Engine Optimisation a step forward in 2021 and this has carried over into 2022. It is all well and good for businesses to be present in the search engine results - but how about ensuring that your business doesn't just “rank,” rather, it owns the search engine results? What better way to grow your business for 2022? 

The most important aspect of SEOwnership is to rank higher than your competitors online for relevant, industry related search terms and phrases, because ranking higher than others in your industry makes you appear to be an industry leader, and will get you more click through rates, which has immense monetary value. And it is understanding this value that is key to SEOwnership in 2022. 

In 2022, we believe that businesses want and need to see VALUE, and this is why SEOwnership is the way forward. At Nexa, we focus on improving your search visibility, your search visibility in comparison to your competitors, and the value of your organic ranking in real currency - we believe that SEO should be about creating a business asset and that is what we are here to do for you. 

In Conclusion

Creating a strong marketing strategy for 2022 that is designed specifically for brand awareness and  for lead generation, is the most cost-effective and efficient way to reach your consumer. It is important that all businesses stay in touch with their buyers to ensure they are kept front of mind and ahead of their competitors at all times. From quality content creation and social media engagement to well designed websites and SEOwnership, you are able to build your business online!

Marketing is vital for 2022, and we are here to help you grow your business through strategic marketing and lead generation campaigns that can be measured - and will show results.

Get started by filling the form on this page and we'll be in touch soon!